Two days of pouring rain filled the lawn around the Take Back the Capitol tent city with mud, but did not dampen the enthusiasm of a one-hundred person Minnesota delegation that traveled by bus to fight for a “99%” agenda—jobs, fair taxes on the wealthiest, and a democracy free from the grips of big money.
On Tuesday, December 6th, delegations of 10 – 20 Minnesotans sat down in the Congressional offices of Minnesota Representatives who have not supported a jobs bill or fair taxes and refused to leave until their Representatives talked to them. Reps. Kline and Cravaack eventually met with the Minnesota delegations. (Kline expressed some sympathy for the idea of extending unemployment benefits. Cravaack offered his personal story of unemployment but made no concessions in a meeting that members of Occupy Duluth, MFE and unemployed constituents had pursued for months.)
After a four-hour stand-off, Rep. Paulsen’s chief of staff escorted one member of the Minnesotan delegation, Jennifer Carpenter, a laid-off education professional, to meet with Paulsen just off the floor of the House of Representatives where she pressed him to take action to help the unemployed. “We need jobs in Minnesota,” Carpenter said. “They need to vote on extending unemployment benefits. Nobody’s getting a job tomorrow.” (Bachmann was not in DC; Rep. Ellison expressed his enthusiastic support for the 99% agenda.)
Minnesotans also helped lead a delegation that confronted politicians and lobbyists at a fundraiser hosted by the American Bankers Association.
On Wednesday Minnesotans played key leadership roles in a march by thousands on K Street—the center of Washington DC corporate lobbying—that garnered extensive national media attention. Organizers from SEIU, TakeAction Minnesota, UFCW 1189, MFE, CTUL, and Occupy Minnesota served as marshals and chant leaders. Marchers from across the country carried banners designed by Minnesotans Rogue Citizens Art Collective—artists who also created the giant “99% Street” banner that blocked off K Street as activists from OccupyDC, members of the clergy, and unemployed workers were arrested in a non-violent act of civil disobedience designed to focus attention on the country’s economic emergency.
The Star Tribune (on Sunday and Tuesday), City Pages (Tuesday and Wednesday), MPR, the Rochester Post Bulletin, WCCO Radio, KARE 11, and the Minnesota News Network have all covered the work of Minnesota’s 99% delegation.
See photos and video at http://www.facebook.com/FairMN. Twitter: #99inDC and #FairM.
Minnesotans speak about Take Back the Capitol:
“It was amazing seeing all of the support the people in their offices watching our march to K Street and dancing to our drumbeat. Our message is getting through. It is a special moment to be here standing up for justice and the 99%. Getting the word out about corporate power and the suppression of others has been very powerful for me,” said HCMN member Yankuba Fadera.
“In our visit to Joe Walsh of Illinois’ office, we filmed him running away from us. There was a story in the Huffington Post and the YouTube title is ‘Joe Walsh flees 99%.’ I was a marshal in the march to K Street today and there aren’t words to describe how psyched and empowered I feel,” said Minnesotan Kimberly Martini.
“Today, the march on K Street was an eye-opener: Being with all those people in the K Street march to make change, I had tears in my eyes. This is all new to me but I don’t want us to return to Minnesota satisfied, I want to do what I can contribute to keep this going,” said HCMN member Jermaine Rayford.
